NOTEBOOK

Panthers make noise with win over West

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The Johnston baseball team was treading water through the early portion of its schedule, a .500 team without a marquee win.

They’ve got one now.

On Tuesday, Johnston knocked off perennial contender Cranston West 4-3. The Falcons – expected to be one of the best teams in the state this season – were 5-1 entering the game, with their only loss to unbeaten Bishop Hendricken.

The Panthers battled all game long, giving West another notch in the loss column. James Picchi went four strong innings on the mound, allowing three runs during that span. Korey Fijal took over the duties in the fifth and shut down the Falcons the rest of the way.

Picchi also added an RBI single, leading a Johnston offense that had six hits against West starter Kemi Idowu. The Panthers got to Idowu for one run in the second and three in the third, providing all the support Picchi and Fijal needed.

Johnston has now won two games in a row and sits at 4-3. Before the West game, it beat Lincoln 3-1 on Friday behind a solid effort on the mound from ace Joe Bongiovanni.

Bongiovanni went six innings, giving up just one run and striking out five. Ryan McKeon came on for the save and pitched a scoreless seventh.

Alex Tennerella drove in two runs for Johnston, while Picchi knocked in the other.

The Panthers are currently tied for fourth place with Cumberland and La Salle in Division I-North, a half-game back of North Providence and one game back of West. Hendricken leads the division at 6-0.

Johnston will find out how it stacks up against the best today, as it travels to Hendricken for a game against the Hawks at 4 p.m. Hendricken eliminated Johnston in last year’s state semifinal series.

Softball gets a

dominant win

It was always going to be a growing season for the Johnston softball team, and that was clear in the team’s 1-4 start. But on Monday, they put together an impressive performance.

The Panthers defeated South Kingstown 11-1in a six-inning, mercy-rule shortened game. They’re now 2-4 in Division-II-North. South Kingstown is 0-8 in D-II-South.

Jordan McHale and Emily Rodriguez each had a pair of hits and drove in three runs for Johnston, which took control with a six-run third inning.

In the circle, Alicia Carvalho went the distance, allowing only three hits and two walks. She struck out four.

The Panthers are in fourth place in their subdivision, just a half-game behind Burrillville for third. They’ll have a chance to jump the Broncos today when they host Burrillville for a 3:30 p.m. game at Mazzulla Field.

Lacrosse still

finding its footing

The Johnston girls’ lacrosse team – in its first year as a program – dropped to 0-4 in Division III with a 16-5 loss to Mount St. Charles on Friday and a 13-5 loss to North Smithfield/Burrillville on Monday. Wednesday’s game with North Providence was postponed due to weather.

Lauren Tedesco had three goals against Mount, while Isabella DiRaimo added two. Alex DiRaimo had an assist. In goal, Jacsmile Cassion made seven stops.

Facing North Smithfield, Johnston got three more goals from Tedesoc and one apiece from Amber Dion and Sloan Lamoureux. Catherine Hardman added an assist. Cassion stopped 18 more shots in net.

The Panthers will be back in action on Friday when they travel to 2-2-1 Smithfield for a 6:30 p.m. start. After that they’ll have their best chance yet to win when they go to fellow winless Scituate on Tuesday for a game at 3:30 p.m.

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